Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

They also opposed other public health programmes, notably mass vaccination and mental health services. Can anyone imagine putting fluoridation in with those very important issues? Water was fluoridated in large parts of the Netherlands from 1960 to 1973 but the supreme court declared fluoridation of drinking water unauthorised. As a barrister, the Minister of State is probably aware that the Supreme Court in Ryan v. Attorney General in 1965 held that water fluoridation did not infringe the plaintiff's right to bodily integrity. However, the court did find that such a right to bodily integrity did exist, despite the fact that it was not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, thus establishing the doctrine of unenumerated rights in Irish constitutional law. In the US to date, no federal appellate court or state court of last resort, that is, the state supreme court in America, has found water fluoridation to be unlawful.

Water fluoridation is used in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and in a handful of other countries. In the United Kingdom, the strategic health authority can direct a water company to fluoridate the water supply in an area if it is technically possible. The strategic health authority must consult with the local community and businesses in the affected area.

The water company will act as a contractor in any new schemes and cannot refuse to fluoridate the supply. In the context of the legislation to establish Irish Water, there may be some flexibility if this debate is to be opened up. Perhaps the Minister of State is not inclined to open it up because the overwhelming evidence seems to suggest that everything is fine in this regard. I share and empathise with the points my colleagues have made. I support the view in light of the controversy. Despite what I have said about the pros and cons of this argument, technology is constantly evolving. Even though the forum reported in 2004 that there is continuing monitoring, I share the concerns of my fellow Senators and would therefore not necessarily want to oppose their aspirations for having a review.